Duke stars Smith, Singler to play in Crossfire Game

By Brittany JacksonTimes-News Staff Writer

Thursday

Mar 31, 2011 at 4:30 AM

Duke stars Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler, and UNC Asheville's John Williams will be suiting up for the ACC All-Stars in the annual ACC/Crossfire All-Star Game on Saturday, April 16, at A.C. Reynolds High School.

It's time again for the annual ACC/Crossfire All-Star Game, and this year Duke fans will get a treat in seeing Associated Press first-team All-America and ACC Player of the Year Nolan Smith up close locally, as the game will be held for the second straight year at A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville on Saturday, April 16. Duke fans will also get to see first-team All-ACC pick Kyle Singler in action at the 18th annual showdown, as well as Duke senior Casey Peters. Smith led the ACC with 21.6 points per game, as well as 4.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. He finished his senior season with an 81 percent free throw shooting percentage. With no seniors starting from UNC this season, the Tar Heels will be represented by graduate student Justin Knox and seniors Daniel Bolick, D.J. Johnston and Van Hatchell, the son of Carolina womens' head basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell. "We love basketball and love to play basketball but our purpose as former collegiate players is to have an opportunity to share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ," said Crossfire Ministries co-founder Randy Shepherd. "Fans can come see the guys they've seen on TV but more importantly to listen to Christ's message."The Crossfire team will be made up of co-founders Shepherd and Jamie Johnson, both former collegiate basketball players who will give a sermon at halftime, as well as former Brevard College standout Chuck Peterson, who led the Crossfire to a 104-95 win over ACC with 20 second-half points. Another big name in the Crossfire lineup will be John Williams, who led the UNC Asheville Bulldogs to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, just the second time in the program's history.But before playing in the Crossfire game and dunk contest on April 16, Williams will partake in the State Farm Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championship contest tonight in Houston, TX, at the site of the NCAA Final Four. He is the first player in the history of the Big South Conference to be invited to the competition, and just one of 24 senior standouts from around the country. "Thank the Lord that we can still get up and down the court, but we are wise enough to recruit younger and taller players as well. John Williams from UNC Asheville will play with us and he had a great year," Shepherd said. "I've seen him do some dunks that other people haven't done. I've also heard that he's got a 45-inch vertical. Eddie Biedenbach recruited David Thompson, who was on the 1974 NCAA championship team and is one of Michael Jordan's idols, and said he's never seen anyone jump like David could until John came along." At just 6-4, Williams is the No. 1 all-time in UNCA history with 255 blocks in 120 games. He completed his career as a Bulldog with 1,171 points and 684 rebounds. Clemson, one of the four ACC teams to make it into the NCAA Tournament, will be represented by third-team all-ACC Demontez Stitt, along with Jonah Baize, Jerai Grant (honorable mention all-ACC) and Zavier Anderson. Rounding up the ACC team are Javier Gonzalez and Tracy Smith (honorable mention all-ACC) from N.C. State, and from Wake Forest, Gary Clark. Joining the Crossfire cast will be former collegiate players Clark Camp (Southern Wesleyan), Tim Lewis (Montreat College), Zachary Chandler (Newberry College), Jazz Cathcart (Montreat), Willie Battle (Western Carolina University) and Joel Flemming (WCU). "They play hard and we play hard," Shepherd said of the ACC and Crossfire teams. "In 18 years, they've won about nine times and we've won eight. It's a good competitive game, 3-point and dunk competition; it's a chance to get autographs, shake hands with and meet some guys that you see play on TV, but the halftime message is the clutch for Crossfire." Doors will open at 5 p.m. and the game will start at 6 p.m. To help fund the event, tickets are $10 and can be purchased at Showtime Sports & Trophies (298-4808); Arsenal Athletics at Asheville Mall (298-3303); Biltmore Baptist Church bookstore (650-6500); Leicester Carpet in Asheville (254-8937) and Leicester Carpet in Hendersonville (233-0500).

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